


today our story starts anew

by katana_fleet



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-08 04:04:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14096808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katana_fleet/pseuds/katana_fleet
Summary: Oliver’s eyes widened comically and he glanced down at her before slowly reaching for the little plastic stick. Felicity watched his eyes go back and forth across the lines—the extra pink line, in particular—as she stood up and felt the world spin around her for a moment. Before the world cleared, Oliver had his arm around her, steadying her.“You’re pregnant?” he finally whispered.





	today our story starts anew

**Author's Note:**

  * For [katniss_annabeth_luna_mellark](https://archiveofourown.org/users/katniss_annabeth_luna_mellark/gifts).



> title from 'a happy beginning' from the ouat musical episode. all credit to the cw and the dc comics inc. inspiration given to emily bett rickards and jack moore for their scene in the base in 6x11 because that gave me new life and dedication to the show and also katniss_annabeth_luna_mellark, to whom this is gifted on the occasion of her (belated) birthday. much love, dear!

It was a bit of an unusual day in the life of the Queen-Smoak-Clayton family.

Firstly, William had been late to school, something completely weird since William actually liked school and had only been successfully late to school once before. He had overslept since Felicity’s sensibility had overridden Oliver’s sense and she had declared last night a video game extravaganza.

Secondly, Oliver had burned one of the pancakes, which was odd since Oliver never burned the food unless he was completely distracted. This time it could be attributed to William scorching the eggs and setting off the fire alarm, which was almost normal but rarely coincided with the pancakes.

Thirdly, Felicity Smoak was at home alone. That was unusual enough; she was normally at work at 2 PM. Most working people were, including her husband. William was still at school, since he had after-care until 4. Felicity, however, had thrown up in the base’s bathroom not too long after arriving and chosen to send herself to the closest Walgreens. Once she had arrived at home, she resigned herself to staying on the floor of her bathroom until Oliver got home.

Felicity considered standing up for a moment and trying to pull her life back together, but her stomach revolted again. She hadn’t even eaten anything since one of the not-burned pancakes, she mused as she wiped her mouth. She leaned back against the bathtub.

So… what to tell Oliver? Or William? Oh god,  _William_ , he was going to freak out. They’d have to use that full cliché speech about how he wasn’t being replaced and what if he didn’t believe it— _Oliver._  Oliver was going to freak out for sure. They hadn’t even talked about this. Somehow, in their two separate relationships and discovery of William and now marriage, they hadn’t discussed the problem that was currently displayed on a plastic stick on the sink.

She didn’t even know how  _she_ felt about the whole thing yet. She was… sprawled across the bathroom floor with Walgreens bag next to her. That was a pretty good indication of her current peace of mind or lack thereof. Her brain was kind of spinning.

Felicity tried to sit up when she heard Oliver’s footsteps coming through the apartment. “Felicity?” he called. It wasn’t too panicked, so she’d probably be okay for a bit.

“In here,” she called, her voice slightly raspy from not having actually spoken out loud in something like two hours.

She wasn’t quite sitting up when Oliver stepped inside the bathroom. To his credit, he didn’t start yelling or anything. “Are you okay?” he asked with a bit of panic as he helped her sit up. “I got your text in the middle of a meeting and couldn’t reply. And before you ask, yes, I did worry.”

Felicity sighed. “I’m  _fine_ , I told you. The text was quite clear, I thought.” Then Oliver was reaching for a washcloth, and then he stood up to wet it in the sink. Felicity reached out toward the countertop, trying to somehow stop it, stop the inevitable, but there was nothing to be done. It was like those slow-motion scenes action movies were so fond of, and just like in the movies, it didn’t work.

Oliver’s eyes widened comically and he glanced down at her before slowly reaching for the little plastic stick. Felicity watched his eyes go back and forth across the lines—the extra pink line, in particular—as she stood up and felt the world spin around her for a moment. Before the world cleared, Oliver had his arm around her, steadying her.

“You’re pregnant?” he finally whispered.

Felicity didn’t really know what to say, which was really a first in the life of Felicity Smoak-Queen. “Yes.” She felt that required a little more explanation. “I haven’t felt normal for a few weeks and I finally noticed that I was late this morning and then I threw up in the base and so I figured it out and went to get that and I’ve been sitting here since because I didn’t know what—”

And then she was pulled into a hug. Oliver buried his face in her neck and she could feel his grin against her skin. He pulled away almost as abruptly. “You’re really pregnant?” His eyes were shining, both with the force of his smile and the tears that were puddling in his eyes. And that was all she needed for that flash of joy she’d been waiting for.

She grinned up at him, wrapped her arms around his back. “Yeah, Oliver. Afraid so.” And before she could stop him, he kissed her. Then she forgot about all the problems she was considering and pulled him even closer.

He walked them over to their bed, not breaking the kiss, and she found herself down on her back with Oliver bracing himself above her. For once she was wearing a shirt and pants combo, so it wasn’t hard for him to push her shirt up and he leaned down and kissed her stomach gently.

Oliver smiled and crawled up the bed to lie down next to her. “How do you feel about it?” he asked, tucking an arm under his head and stroking her fingers with his other hand.

“Somehow, we’ve managed to not talk about all of this,” Felicity began, turning to face him. “I mean, we have William, but we didn’t talk about it before or since he appeared. And I haven’t really considered the whole kid thing in a while, like not since I was in college, and we’ve got the Green Arrow stuff and the team and everything with—” Then she recited her whole freak-out from before Oliver got home.

By the time she was done, Oliver was kissing her fingers. He looked up at her, blue eyes all serious and loving. “In a few days, I’m going to think about all of that and I will freak out. I’ll probably get ridiculously protective and I might wall up for a bit.”

“Obviously,” Felicity said. He wouldn’t be Oliver Queen if all of that didn’t happen. “There is a ‘but’, though, right? That would be useful. Seeing as if you keep on like that for another, what, eight months, I’ll be forced to arrow you.”

“ _But_ …” His voice went quiet and, dare she think, awed. “…we’re having a  _baby_. That’s the most wonderful thing I’ve ever heard.” He grinned again, and she couldn’t help but smile back. It was so contagious, his joy and his smile. “You make me the happiest man on earth, Felicity Smoak.”

And that was too sweet; she didn’t stop herself from kissing him. He was  _beautiful_ when he was happy.

\--

Two weeks later, Oliver’s prediction—and her complete belief in the matter—had come true. They were still happy, of course; nothing was going to stop that. And the fact that Oliver’s eyes had managed to become shining hearts whenever he looked at her or William, and he kissed her stomach every morning and night.

Then they’d gone to the doctor. The sound of the heartbeat filled the room, and Oliver’s eyes shone. They stared at the infuriatingly blurry picture of their kid. “It looks like a peanut,” Felicity said, trying not to go all gooey at the fact that there was a peanut growing in her stomach.

“It looks like you’re about seven weeks along,” the nurse gushed. “Everything looks good!” Then she said a lot more technical stuff that neither of them listened to because they were staring at the peanut and Felicity’s best friend was the internet.

They got home. They were ridiculously, completely, deliriously happy. That lasted two and a half days. Then the overprotectiveness began.

Oliver first tried to prevent her from going down to the base. She acquiesced at first, since the panic in Oliver’s eyes was a little bit contagious and she was still working on nausea treatment. Then she got restless and, when the Villain of the Week eluded Oliver and John for the fourth day in a row since they couldn’t figure out her technology, she earned her re-admittance to the Arrow cave.

John stared at her for a few minutes down in the lair as she settled back into her wonderful chair. Oliver was standing pretty close by, within reach but not so close that they were running into each other, a la two days ago. Felicity was watching the screens, going back and forth between the searches and John Diggle’s face.

Finally, John understood, a grin slowly forming on his face. “You’re  _pregnant_!” he had almost shouted. After the obligatory “how did you find out?” and “why didn’t you tell me?” and threatening from Oliver and hugs and handshakes all around, they sat down to have a proper chat while waiting for the search to finish. “How long?” Digg asked.

“About two months,” Felicity answered. “The nurse was scary enough that I didn’t want to tell anyone for a while.”

“They’ll do that,” John grinned, remembering the same stage with JJ. Although, with JJ, John had taken even longer to tell them, Felicity reflected. One point for Olicity, then. He then clapped Oliver on the back. “How are you holding up?”

Oliver flinched and made a noncommittal noise, showing both best friend and wife exactly how well he wasn’t handling the whole thing at the moment. “He was fine at first, more than fine, great, actually, but over the past four days he’s become a protective monster of a baby daddy,” Felicity explained fondly.

John looked at Oliver almost as fondly. “He would do that, wouldn’t he.”

“He couldn’t help it,” Felicity cooed, forgetting yesterday when she’d yelled at him for not letting her handle the toaster. It was a  _toaster_. It would not attack anyone. The fact that she regularly burned herself with it was entirely besides the point.

Oliver then stalked away, ripping his shirt off along the way, heading for the salmon ladder. After the initial and very brief surprise of his abrupt stripping, Felicity and Diggle had returned to the computers, talking about the plans for Baby Queen around the  _clangs_  of Oliver’s stress.

It was expected, at least, Felicity mused as she found Bad Guy of the Week and sent her boys out to capture him. And—she remembered the way his back muscles had rippled earlier as he ascended and descended the salmon ladder over and over—the stripping was welcome, anyway. “Honestly, everyone’s taking the idea of your existence really well,” she whispered to her stomach.

She wondered if it was a boy or girl, all of a sudden. And if it would be better at computers or salmon ladders. Then she realized she was talking to her stomach. Which would have been okay if the baby could hear her, but since it was the size of a grape, it wasn’t even close to auditory skills. Not much point yet. She shook her head and directed John down the next road, letting the chase regain her attention.

\--

“We have to tell William,” Felicity murmured a week later as they were taking a rare ten minutes to watch an adventure story that wasn’t actually their life. “He’s going to find out eventually, he’s so smart, and I just don’t think it’ll be good for him to figure it out on his own.”

“True,” Oliver murmured back. He’d taken to lying across her lap and cuddling as closely as possible whenever they sat down for more than five minutes, and he was almost asleep as a result. “I wouldn’t have figured out at his age, though…” He zoned out as Hawkeye shot another alien and Felicity tried to think of a way to say “You’re my husband and I love you but your son is way smarter than you” without offending him. “But he is way smarter than me, so he probably will,” Oliver finished the sentence, much to her relief.

Felicity ran her fingers through his hair and added haircuts all around to her checklist. William’s was almost in his eyes, and Oliver’s was going to be really close to attack-paparazzi Oliver in a week or two. That wasn’t a look any of them were actually interested in.

“Are you pregnant?” William’s voice came from behind. Oliver jumped, returning to a sitting position without Felicity seeing him move. She turned around to face the boy, her heart trying to keep up with the adrenaline and racing brain. “Sorry to interrupt. I just thought I heard…” He took one step backwards, trying to escape to his room.

Oliver glanced down at her and called his son back. “We should explain—”

“Yes, I’m pregnant,” Felicity blurted out. Thankfully, William stepped over to the couch so she didn’t have to crane her neck too awkwardly.

Then all three of them stared. Despite the progress made over the months of Three Queens, they hadn’t gotten really good at the family talks yet. Although—did anyone really get good at those? They were hard and awkward and annoying. “How long?” William asked.

“Two months and a week and a half, about. We’ve known for about two weeks,” Felicity quickly said. The kid probably wanted information quickly to make up for what he didn’t know, right? She could basically see the thoughts racing through William’s head.

Then just as quickly as the surprise had formed on William’s face, a smile broke across it. “That’s really cool,” he said. “Is it a boy or girl?”

“It’s like two or three months until that appointment,” Felicity said, watching as William’s face finally walled over. Her heart  _sank_ at the rapid (and basically expected) progression of William’s emotions. “But you’ll be the first to know!” At least now she would be able to say she tried to save the situation.

“That’ll probably be the ultrasound technician, really,” William said, that hint of whimsy she so loved in his voice. Maybe this wouldn’t be completely awful. Then she watched all her hopes dash away on some kind of magic flying creature as William gave another celebratory grin, stepped back into the door frame, and just about ran away.

“William?” Oliver called. He tried to get up but Felicity pressed lightly down on his chest and shook her head. Oliver searched her eyes for a moment and read the  _let him go_  she was projecting. “What do we do?” he whispered.

“I don’t know, but for now he needs to be alone. He just found out he’s getting a baby sibling and he’s almost a _teenager_ and he’s William Clayton  _Queen_  and there’s only so much more attention he can stand because you know how almost everyone at school treats him anyway and now look at this, he'll be close to the center of attention again, and—” Felicity felt her brain switch back onto the crazy track but it was quickly derailed by Oliver gently grabbing her chin and pulling her head up to look at him.

“He’ll be okay, Felicity. Like you said. It’ll be okay.”

\--

“William?” Felicity heard Oliver calling just as she started smelling the pancakes. She took a moment to consider getting out of bed, and thankfully, Queen Child No. 2 liked the pancakes and didn’t immediately cause nausea. So she got out of bed and wandered toward the pancakes and husband and son.

Oliver’s hair was wild when she found him in the kitchen. “He’s not in his room, Felicity. I don’t know where he is. There’s a pile of blankets in his bed and—”

 _William was missing_. Felicity felt the room basically flip upside down and found herself in Oliver’s arms a moment later. “I’m good, I’m good, I'm _fine_." She batted the wild-eyed Oliver away and stepped toward her tablet. “I’ll check the—”

Oliver was yanking on a hoodie and tennis shoes before she could finish her sentence. “I’m going now, I texted Digg and he’s going to the base to check the traffic cameras. I’m going to go—somewhere.” And Oliver kissed her on the forehead and exited the apartment.

“He couldn’t even wait for me to check the security footage,” Felicity grumbled, fingers flying on the screen. Her heart was about to beat itself out of her chest—the memories of Adrian Chase were never pleasant and they were returning in full-force—but the cameras in the apartment and building finally cooperated. “Your dad’s great, kid, but he’s an idiot sometimes when it comes to the people he loves,” she muttered. “So dramatic.”

As she yanked her own shoes and robe on, she watched William step out of the apartment and wander out of the building at 5:14 AM. It was a miracle Oliver hadn’t heard the door, honestly. He then meandered down the street, clutching his blue blanket around himself like a cloak. She locked the apartment door as she kept watching the footage, switching from camera to camera along the streets. She followed William’s path as quickly as she could, her heart rate slowing down when she figured out his destination.

“Hey, kid,” Felicity said as she sat down on the swing next to William.

William kept staring at the rest of the playground equipment. “Hi Felicity,” he replied quietly. “How did you find me before Dad?”

“You did a good job being unpredictable, where you walked and where you were going. And your dad didn’t wait for me to bring the cameras up before he and John ran out looking.”

William chuckled soundlessly. “Just like him,” he murmured.

They sat in silence for a minute, Felicity dragging her shoes on the pine chips. Her mind was racing and trying to figure out anything to say that wouldn’t sound completely cliché. It was going to sound cliché whatever happened, honestly.

Thankfully, William started first. “I’m not upset about the baby,” he said, looking up at her with those eyes so like Oliver’s. “I just… I don’t know.”

Felicity tried for humor to fill the silence. “That’s something, at least, that you don’t hate your sibling.”

“I know you’re not replacing me or anything.” William ignored the humor, as well he should. “I wasn’t expecting it at all, though. Should have expected it, you and Dad are married and love each other and you’ve got everything except—”

“If you say that we’ve got everything except a kid…” William glanced back up at her, his eyes looking wounded.  _Oh, frick. That was what he was thinking._ Felicity jumped off of the swing and knelt down in front of William as well as she could without him absolutely towering over her. “We have a kid, William.  _You_.”

“Yeah, but I’m not  _yours_. Not like the baby will be.”

Felicity’s heart pretty much broke. Completely in half. “I know I’m not your biological mother, Will. I’m not trying to be, I’ll never try to replace your mother, I could never do that. I know too much about losing a parent to ever try that. But I’ve never thought of you as anything less than my son.”

William’s eyes were now shining. She reached up and grabbed his hand, partially for the physical contact and partially for stability. Thankfully, he held on as tightly as she was. “Even when your dad and I were just talking about getting back together, or when we were dating for those weeks before we got married, I’ve sort of thought of you as my kid too. You’ve  _always_  been enough for me and your dad. Remember when you found out your dad was still running around in green?”

“I said I wasn’t as worried about losing him, since I had you. After you let me watch him arrow people.”

Felicity managed a smile. That was not one of her better moments. Then she returned to the important topic. “You’ve always had me, William. Whether it was for math tutoring or taking care of you if your dad doesn’t make it home one night.” William just stared for a moment. Felicity scanned his face and decided it was time for the best truth of the morning. “Your dad and I, we love you more than  _anything_. You’re the best kid I’ve ever met, and, if you’re willing, you’re going to be the best big brother in the world. Which is how we should have told you, incidentally, instead of you being too smart for your own good.”

They stared at each other for another minute, Felicity watching everything process in William’s eyes. Finally, William nodded. Felicity stood up, her quads blessing the movement, and William jumped out of the swing into her arms. They stood there in the playground, just the two of them, and Felicity hugged her son.

“Thanks, Felicity,” William whispered. “Love you.”

Felicity felt her eyes fill up. “I love you too, William.”

And that was how Oliver found them, a few minutes later. Felicity heard his footsteps coming closer, but she couldn’t do anything more than turn her head to face him. As he got closer, Felicity could see the alarm in his eyes slowly fade away and, by the time he wrapped his arms around them and rested his forehead on William’s head, Oliver was smiling.

“Love you, Dad,” William murmured.

“Love you too, William,” Oliver answered.

They would be okay, Felicity thought as they turned back toward the apartment and breakfast.  _William_ would be okay, even if he was late for school again.

\--

“What’s his name?” William asked, cradling his baby brother. Felicity had been taking pictures of them for half an hour. It was just too precious.

The baby had been born three hours ago. Oliver and Felicity had kept one hour of it to themselves, just staring at their kid and figuring out the name. After that blessed hour, William and Digg and Lyla had swarmed them, all three wanting to hold the littlest Queen. Naturally and without much argument from the adults, William had won the hold-the-baby battle. Oliver had shifted his littler son into his firstborn’s arms and gotten into the bed with Felicity.

Oliver glanced at Felicity, giving her the reins. Felicity smiled as Oliver pulled her a little closer and kissed the side of her head. “Jonathan Thomas Queen,” she told him. “Thomas for Tommy, of course. Jonathan…”

“Oliver  _Jonas_ Queen,” John said thoughtfully. “Kinda similar.”

Felicity nodded toward Digg and immediately regretted movement. The very nice drugs were officially wearing off. “That was my thought, yeah. Kind of clever, right? But also… Jonathan and David, in the Bible.”

“Brothers,” Oliver summed it up, looking at William with the softest gaze Felicity had ever seen in his blue eyes. She loved him all the more for that look. “Even with all of their problems, they still had each other. So we named him Jonathan for you, William. You and him.”

William smiled and looked back down at the baby. “Jonathan, huh,” he murmured. “He’s pretty great.”

Felicity looked around at the room. Oliver, sitting next to her with all of the love in the world in his eyes. John and Lyla, arms around each other and persevering despite the odds. William, their first child, looking down at his little brother with awe. Jonathan, blue eyes staring up at his big brother sleepily but his little hands wriggling with contentment. All of the happiness surrounding her was completely unexpected, but it was beautiful.

“Yeah, he is,” she agreed. “And he has the best family in the world.”


End file.
